


Scenic Copero

by draculard



Series: Comfortween [9]
Category: Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy Trilogy - Timothy Zahn
Genre: Beach Day, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Planet Copero (Star Wars), Planet Rentor (Star Wars), Swimming, Tropical Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:09:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26907160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/draculard/pseuds/draculard
Summary: Ziara invites Thrawn to the Irizi family's beach resort to get his mind off his latest court-martial.
Relationships: Ar'alani/Thrawn | Mitth'raw'nuruodo
Series: Comfortween [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1946224
Comments: 11
Kudos: 40
Collections: Comfortween 2020





	Scenic Copero

Scenic Copero!

Ziara had spent so many happy months of her childhood here at the Irizi family’s resort. The sun was always shining on Copero; it was the polar opposite of Csilla, and she’d looked forward to coming here every chance she could. The beaches were beautiful; the climate was perfect; the views were some of the best around.

And for Thrawn, who had grown up on _Rentor_ of all places — where there weren’t even any climate-controlled public parks — it had to be almost mind-blowing. She’d insisted that he take leave and come along with her, mostly so she could distract him from his latest court-martial.

(But at least partially so she could see him with his shirt off)

She sneaked a glance at his face, hoping to see a hint of excitement as the beach came into view. Of course, he’d already become familiar with simple non-Rentorian things like grass and wildflowers while he was at Taharim, but he’d certainly never seen an ocean before that wasn’t either glacial or in a holofilm.

And yet his face remained like stone.

“Aren’t you excited?” Ziara asked him. Thrawn glanced down at the sand beneath their feet; he’d borrowed a pair of sandals from the Irizi household — and a pair of swim trunks, as well — and she’d had to show him how the fashionable network of buckles and straps all intersected with each other because he’d never worn a pair before.

“It’s quite warm,” said Thrawn neutrally.

Ziara frowned at him. She looked around the beach — almost completely deserted, which was one of the benefits of being Irizi blood and having access to the family’s private property — and selected a place for them to sit.

Thrawn laid his beach towel down in silence. He set the umbrella up economically, without expression. By the time he picked up the sunscreen bottle and started reading the ingredients list, his eyes hooded and the disinterest on his face plain to read, Ziara had her hands on her hips.

“Be honest with me,” she said. “You hate this, don’t you?”

Thrawn looked up at her in surprise. “Of course I don’t,” he said, and despite the obvious uncertainty in his face, Ziara thought he was telling the truth.

“Well, what’s wrong, then?” she said, adopting her brusque command tone. “You seem … preoccupied.”

He stared out at the ocean and hesitated. Ziara watched as he worried his bottom lip between his teeth. She followed his line of sight out to sea, where the waves were bobbing gently and a light wind was blowing the scent of salt their way.

She looked again at his nervous expression. She looked again at the ocean.

“Don’t tell me you can’t swim,” she said, aghast.

“No, I—”

“No, I _know_ you can!” said Ziara indignantly, turning to face him. “I’ve read your personnel file, you’re an _excellent_ swimmer. You were the first in your class at Taharim to take the Class A swim qual! That’s the _highest_ possible swim qual, Thrawn.”

Thrawn sighed inaudibly and evaded her eyes.

“You _cheated_?” Ziara asked, grabbing his arm.

“I didn’t cheat,” he protested. He moved his arm gently out of her grasp and met her gaze with visible reluctance. She could see embarrassment settling over his cheeks. “I really am a Class A swimmer. I just … don’t …”

Ziara cocked her head. When Thrawn looked down at the sand, she bent her knees, bringing herself down so they were eye-level again and he was forced to make eye contact whether he wanted to or not.

“Don’t…?” she prompted.

“Don’t … _like_ to swim,” Thrawn finished awkwardly.

Ziara stared at him for a long moment, processing this. The Class A swim qualification required each participant to swim a kilometer, demonstrating perfect form in each stroke as they did so, followed by a five-minute dead man’s float, a simulated underwater rescue in full uniform, and a deep-sea dive with breathing apparatus. Everyone Ziara knew who bothered to take the qual _loved_ swimming, and usually had aspirations to join one of the CEDF’s specialized teams for water search and rescue.

“You don’t _like_ to swim?” she repeated, trying to puzzle this out. When Thrawn only stared at the ocean, not responding, she put her hand on his shoulder and pushed him lightly. “Why didn’t you tell me _before_ we came here, you idiot?”

“I’m sure I’ll still enjoy the beach,” said Thrawn. He glanced down at his sandals, and then at the sand around him. “I downloaded several guides to the intertidal lifeforms of Copero, and I’m looking forward to locating samples of my own for extended study.”

Ziara stared at him, trying to convince herself she’d heard him wrong.

“I brought you to the finest private beach in the Ascendancy and you plan to study the _barnacles_?” she said.

“And the isopods, chitons, limpets, whelks—”

“Why don’t you like swimming?” Ziara interrupted him. “ _Everyone_ who takes the Class A swim qual loves to swim. That is, nobody _forced_ you to take it, so if you hate swimming, why would you bother?”

Thrawn glanced at her, his lips forming a thin line. He distracted himself once again by reading the sunscreen label. After a long moment, he handed the bottle over to her and reached absently into the nylon carry-bag he’d brought with him, searching for his questis.

“I bothered,” he said, using her word, “because I did not wish to be inadequate in any area as a warrior. I believed that training myself to pass the qualification — exposing myself to non-Rentorian oceans — might ease some of the … _uncertainty_ that comes with any large body of water.”

Ziara watched as he folded himself onto his beach towel with his questis in hand. He looked away from her, probably scanning the beach for any rocky areas where he might find intertidal creatures to study.

“You’re telling me that you’re afraid of water?” Ziara said. “And in order to face that fear, you trained yourself to do a kilometer-long swim, dead man’s float, underwater rescue—”

“Rentor’s oceans aren’t like Copero’s oceans,” said Thrawn calmly.

—and a deep-sea dive with breathing apparatus. He was the most over-the-top man she'd ever met.

“Yes, they're different, that goes without saying,” said Ziara, sweeping her hand out in a sharp, dismissive gesture. “Glacial, cold, hypothermia-inducing. I understand. So I assume you were raised to fear the ocean, then? 'Stay away from the iceberg's edge, youngling, or you will lose your life'?”

Thrawn made a sound in the back of his throat that might have been a mild scoff. “It’s nothing so dramatic as that,” he said. “I find the water unpleasant, that’s all.”

Ziara looked at the bag she’d brought and thought wistfully of the floaties and pool games packed inside. She looked out at the ocean, with its deep blue water and gentle waves, and then back at Thrawn. Despite his bravado, she could see obvious lines of anxiety around his eyes, and it was clear that swimming genuinely wasn't an option. He might be fine doing it when necessary for the Ascendancy — to save a subordinate, perhaps, or for his own survival — but in a leisure situation, she suspected nothing short of an all-powerful god could get Thrawn into the water.

“Alright, then,” she said briskly. “Get up.”

Thrawn made no move to get up. He stared resolutely at his questis, his face darkening. “Respectfully, Ziara, if you think you can alleviate my distaste for the ocean by simply forcing me into the water—”

“Up,” said Ziara again. Thrawn eyed her over the edge of his questis. When he still made no move to stand, Ziara allowed her face and tone to soften a little, even as she put her hands on her hips. “I’m not going to force you into the ocean,” she said. “Tactically, it seems like rather a stupid choice, doesn’t it? You’ve already exposed yourself to the ocean as much as you possibly can with your swim qual.”

His posture eased a little at that, but he still regarded her suspiciously, refusing to stand.

“You’re unfamiliar with this resort,” Ziara told him.

“Yes,” he said.

“I _am_ familiar with this resort,” Ziara said.

His eyes narrowed. “Yes.”

He wasn’t getting it. Patiently, Ziara gestured eastward and said, “So I know where the tidal pools are.”

Thrawn’s face brightened, but still he didn’t stand. “I thought you would…” he started uncertainly, gesturing to the ocean.

“What, leave you to have all the fun while I swim in circles by myself?” Ziara said. She made a quick, snappy gesture, and finally, Thrawn clambered to his feet, practically beaming at her.

“I’d like to see the isopods first, if you know where to find them,” he said, clasping his questis with both hands. 

“We’ll see what we see,” said Ziara. She grabbed his arm and steered him to the east. “Let’s get this over with.”

He fell into step with her immediately, his face soft, a slight smile playing around his lips. His arm was relaxed beneath her hand.

When she moved her hand downward, her fingers interlacing with his, he didn’t protest. He only looked at her briefly, still smiling, and Ziara felt something warm unfurl inside her as she smiled back.

“I will also accept bivalvia first,” said Thrawn happily. “But I prefer isopods.”

“ _Thrawn_.”


End file.
